


Heat Stroke

by Shinku_Tsuuki



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Ficlet, Gen, Heat Stroke, Regret, implied Genesis/Cloud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:05:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinku_Tsuuki/pseuds/Shinku_Tsuuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Anyway, if you see someone in red—“ Zack ignored Angeal’s glare here by focusing his attention to Cloud instead, “—who loves to recite every single line of Loveless, please call me or Angeal as soon as possible.”</p>
<p>After that, both of them left, leaving Cloud horrified alone as the realization dawned upon him. </p>
<p>“What should I do if the Commander tries to fry me…?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heat Stroke

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing but the plot. (-w-) 
> 
> Unbeta-ed, so feel free to correct the mistakes.

It was an awfully hot summer in Midgar. Cloud wasn’t lucky enough as his classmates were; he passed out when they were marching outside, unable to resist the awful heat and was taken to the infirmary instead. So there he was, alone inside the silent white room. Hearing his own ragged breath was kind of… annoying.

 

Well, at least, until someone opened the door—more like banged on it and made the poor thing almost destroyed—and screamed, “You all right, Spiky?!”

 

Cloud smiled tiredly. No matter how loud Zack was, at least he wouldn’t be alone like before.

 

Someone slapped the SOLDIER’s head, effectively silencing him and Cloud shivered slightly at the sight of Angeal Hewley. He tried to sit, but Angeal motioned him not to and kept lying. “At ease, Cadet. Please heal yourself first, or else this puppy won’t stop worrying,” said the First Class while pointing at the worried Zack. The blond cadet just chuckled softly.

 

“You okay there, buddy? Need something cool like ice cream? Or soda? Or me?” At the last part, Zack posed as if he was a model for a painting. Cloud burst out laughing while Angeal just sighed heavily. The blond waved his palm as he tried to stop laughing. “N-n-no, thank you. I just need to rest for a while, sorry for making you worried.”

 

Zack rolled his eyes and put his hand on his hip. “You don’t have to apologize, you know? I’m your friend, after all,” he said sulkily. It was childish of him, yes, but ‘childish’ was the exact word to describe Zack Fair, so… “Anyway, if you see someone in red—“ Zack ignored Angeal’s glare here by focusing his attention to Cloud instead, “—who loves to recite every single line of Loveless, please call me or Angeal as soon as possible.”

 

Cloud’s feeling turn worse. “Someone in red… Loveless… Are you talking about—“

 

Zack and Angeal walked toward the door, with Zack saying, “We need him at the meeting room with Director Lazard this noon, so thank you in advance, Cloud! Get well soon!”

 

After that, both of them left, leaving Cloud horrified alone as the realization dawned upon him.

 

“What should I do if the Commander tries to fry me…?”

 

(someone chuckled amusedly; was this just Cloud’s imagination, or was it _real_?)

 

**.**

 

Cloud was half-sleeping when he heard the door opened slightly. The footstep he heard was light, almost soundless—unlike Zack’s, which was loud, heavy, and noisy. Neither it was his classmate’s; they wouldn’t bother to visit him. He was not as important as their training, after all. And he doubt there’s any weakling other than him in Shin-Ra. He really doubted it.

 

The footstep stopped in front of the empty bed next to his. The owner of that footstep was sitting on the bed, looking at him with tired glance and ragged panting.

 

“What are you doing here, Cadet?”

 

Cloud wanted to answer, but his throat was dry and it hurt like hell. He wanted to move his fingers, but it was numb and stiff and oh my god was he dying because of this heat?

 

“…heat stroke?”

 

Fortunately though, Cloud could nod. There was a snort (which Cloud tried to ignore as he almost fell to sleep again) and the blurry man was now lying on the bed. With his boots on. Whoever he was, he was ignorant as hell to someone who had to wash the sheet. “I’m surprised someone like you still exists here—someone who can’t stand the heat and fainted in the middle of drilling, I mean.”

 

Cloud really wanted to choke this man.

 

“But it’s fine by me.”

 

_…huh?_

“At least, you’re still human, unlike me.”

 

Cloud lost his consciousness afterward. All that he remembered from this one-sided conversation was the man’s cocky attitude and the red clothes he wore, which made Cloud felt guilty seconds before he fell asleep again.

 

(unknown to him, the man in red moved from the bed to the empty chair next to Cloud’s bed. He sat there for a long time with a book on his lap. His shoulder fell when he saw how tired and weak Cloud was; instead of frying him like what Cloud imagined, the man in red patted his head instead and whispered, “Get well soon, Cadet.”)

 

**.**

 

_It was an awfully hot summer in Midgar and Cloud felt déjà vu._

_He hadn’t moved from his bed since he was awoken this morning. Knowing that her housemate couldn’t stand the heat, Tifa tried to take care of him with Denzel and Marlene’s help. The dark-haired girl was cooking at the time Cloud was awake for the umpteenth time from his nightmare. She didn’t hear his ragged breathing, nor knowing the tears that fell as the blond tried to forget the horrible nightmare he had._

_All that he could remember was red; the blood-splattered wall, Zack’s stiff body, dead soldiers’ bodies, and—_

_[“Get well soon, Cadet.”]_

_\--his chest hurt. He couldn’t breathe properly; he could do nothing but cry silently._

_He had lost it all. He was greedy and that’s why. He wanted to be a SOLDIER and lost everything he loved in the process. His mother, his best friend, his hero—everything. He took his friend’s memory; he became someone that wasn’t his own self._

 

_And then, everything was black._

 

**.**

 

“Spiky? Hey, Spiky? You okay there? Cloud—come on, buddy, wake up!”

 

It was Zack’s worried voice. Cloud opened his eyes slowly, only to find the black-haired SOLDIER standing next to him with his stoic yet equally worried face. He could feel Zack’s hand holding his own tight. It hurt, yes, but somehow, it was comforting. To know that he was still there, alive—“I have a nightmare, Zack.”

 

“Nightmare?” Zack echoed, now clearly relieved that his friend was conscious although with puffy red eyes. Cloud nodded weakly. “I was alone in a room; I remembered that you’ve died, blood everywhere, and I’ve lost everything—even my own self. It was scary…”

 

Zack was laughing, but his voice was shaking. “What are you talking about, Cloudy? I’m here, right? Look, I’m holding you tight. I won’t leave you alone, you know? I’d come by to annoy you and kidnap you to skip classes, so don’t you ever dare to dream like that again!”

 

“Technically speaking, Puppy, he was having nightmare. None of them are real.”

 

The unfamiliar voice came from the bed behind Zack. The owner was curling, hugging a pillow with his back facing Cloud. But judging from his red clothes, Cloud knew who that was.

 

“I see you’ve found the Commander?” was spoken in whisper, not wanting to attract the short-tempered Commander’s attention and getting fried by Firaga in the process. Genesis Rhapsodos wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with, not if you wanted to live a long life. Zack grinned widely—he had returned to his usual self now. “Yeah, found him sleeping here. Well, not at that bed, though.”

 

When Cloud frowned from not understanding his point, Zack smirked mischievously and showed him a photo that made Cloud coughed hard.

 

There, in the photo on Zack’s PHS, were a sleeping Genesis on a chair where Zack was sitting now; the one next to Cloud’s bed. His head was on top of Cloud’s pillow, almost touching with Cloud’s forehead. What surprised him the most was Genesis’ hand—it was on top of Cloud’s blond spike, as if the Commander fell asleep while patting Cloud’s head.

 

“I’m setting it as my phone’s wallpaper.”

 

“Please don’t. Just… don’t.”

 

If only Cloud were not blushing furiously, that glare would’ve worked on scaring Zack. But the reality was cruel, and even though Cloud was scowling at his caring friend, Zack’s wallpaper still hadn’t changed and the human porcupine himself was laughing evilly at Cloud’s burned face.

 

(what they didn’t know was Angeal having a hard time on restraining his own laugh. He was leaning on the wall next to the infirmary door, so he could see everything—everything, as in Cloud’s blushing face, Zack’s PHS wallpaper, and another blushing madly face that was the Commander’s who pretended to be sleeping.

 

Ah, yes. Life was fun this way. Having something to retort to Genesis’ daily antics was a plus)

 

**.**

**(End)**

**Author's Note:**

> So, I originally wanted it to be dream-in-a-dream, but I failed and wrote this instead. The dream Cloud had was in Advent Children timeline--kind of dreaming of future, I think. 
> 
> Anyway, I've been wanting to write Genesis/Cloud for a long time. I'm not satisfied with this, so, see you in next one? owo


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